


Revelations

by musicforswimming



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Older Man/Younger Woman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-02
Updated: 2009-11-02
Packaged: 2017-10-02 13:37:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicforswimming/pseuds/musicforswimming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellen looks in the rearview mirror one morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> Written off a prompt for the spn_30snapshots comm on LJ, specifically #1 (reflection).

They picked him up just outside of Duluth, because none of them could figure out what might've brought him back and for all that John Winchester was a goddamned fool she wasn't going to let his pride put him at risk. Something had to be looking for him, and that meant there was strength in numbers. He and Jo took turns in the passenger seat, and she got used to seeing one of them in the back when she'd check the mirror.

Then, at a campground in Colorado where they'd stayed the night, she got up from making breakfast -- figured they were both just in the showers still -- to grab her map from the car and start figuring out where they'd head next. Ellen looked in the mirror and John was back there, and so was her daughter, both of them in their underwear and both of them with such deer-in-headlights expressions on their faces that if one of them wasn't her goddamned _daughter_ she would've had to laugh.

Ellen stared into the mirror a little longer, then stepped out of the car and slammed the door again. Never could bring herself to turn around and look at them; the glimpse she caught from the corner of her eye was bad enough.

"Mom," Jo was already talking, her voice muffled by the metal and glass of the car between them; a low rumble that has to be John Winchester's voice and then Jo was tumbling out of the car while she was still fumbling with the buttons on her jeans. Ellen turned away, but too late to miss a glimpse of John doing up his belt. "Mom, it's not -- "

"Not what it looks like, Joanna Beth?" Ellen asked, and breathed deep, her hands unclenching from fists at her sides. Another slam of the car door, and there they go again, and she's landed one on John as soon as he's within range of her arms. Jo shrieked, ran between them, but Ellen hauled her out of the way again, and John Winchester still hadn't said a word for himself, just stood there hissing with pain, hands closed over his nose.

"Mom," Jo tried again. Ellen turned away from John, realized she was still holding tight to Jo's wrist, and let it go, took another deep breath and tried to work her hands flat again. Her fingers felt awkward, all splayed out across the sides of her jeans, and she settled for crossing her arms instead.

John tried this time -- "Ellen," voice low and calm, like he was trying just as hard as she was, here, and she closed her eyes.

"Shut your mouth, John Winchester," she managed, and then opened them again. "Breakfast is almost ready," she told no one in particular, and as she stalked past Jo, looked over her shoulder. "Joanna, you want to get involved with Hunters, you'd better learn how to clean them up. You see to him before either one of you thinks of asking me for food."

They follow, eventually, and neither of them says anything to her over breakfast, but John's nose has been patched up well enough. Ellen pours all three of them coffee and doesn't look up from her plate.


End file.
